Ferns Are Everybodies Friends!

Well apparently not! According To Monty Don from Gardeners' World ferns seem to be scoffed by some as simply an easy solution to a dry shady area! I expect the main protagonists are gin toting Ra Ra's ;-)! He was discussing this two weeks ago in the Gardeners' World episode set at Malvern Spring Gardening show. What is actually wrong with a plant that is an easy solution to a problem? In my rather short book on gardening ... naught!

To me they are another plant with fantastic personality. Over the course of the winter, in the UK, they shrivel up into nothing but mess due to the insane cold. Well it was insane this past winter. Temperatures as low as -18 decrees Celsius had all of us struggling. It seemed to be particularly harsh on the fern in our garden. In honesty I thought it was permanently deceased!

Then in mid April I was surprised by rapid signs of life! The introduction photo is of one of the fern fronds slowly unfurling. Say that quickly 5 times ;-). Below is a photo of the Octopus plant gradually coming out to play. Well to me they look like Octopus tentacles slowing uncoiling ;-)

By the end of the first week in May the fern is almost fully back on top form, as seen below

From mid march to now, and a beautiful splash of green in the shady corner of the garden. Love it. What's not to love about this transformation from a grisly decayed mess, slowly and most bizzarely slowly uncoiling into a very unique looking plant. Nothing I tell you! To all those Gin Toting Ra Ra Fern Haters I feel for you ;-)

That's all for now.

Cheers

m

Trying Out Facebook Page Integration

Testing to see if this gets posted on the facebook page for Mobile Technology and Gardening.

Lets see if it works.

Cheers

m

Trying Out The ShareMyApps Android Application

Hmmm.... the below is the Blogger output from the ShareMyApps Android application. This app inspects your phone to see what applications you have installed and then allows you to select from a list and share with your contacts.

The sharing options seem pretty good. Again it inspects your phone to see what you have installed and allows you to share using applications installed on your phone. So in my case it allowed:

• Gmail
• Text
• Bluetooth
• Blogger - app installed on my phone
• Docs - Google docs
• Dropbox
• FriendStream - the HTC pre-installed app
• Mail - the HTC Mail client
• Peep - another HTC pre-installed app
• Twitter

so a very extensive selection! I tried sharing via Blogger though and this was the output that was generated. See the list of links below. Not exactly user friendly! Can you make sense out of it?

Tried sharing the list via Twitter as well. Hmmm no luck there, my tweet was 763 characters over the allowed 140 character limit!

So although plenty of sharing options, not much validation going on as to whether the content worked in a particular application! Perhaps additional validation, to determine if content is appropriate to share in a particular medium, might come in an upgrade?

Sharing via Blogger:

Amazon UK: http://market.android.com/details?id=uk.amazon.mShop.android Chrome to Phone: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.chrometophone Dropbox: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.dropbox.android Finance: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.finance Foursquare: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.joelapenna.foursquared Google Sky Map: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.stardroid Gowalla: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.gowalla IMDb: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.imdb.mobile LinkedIn: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.linkedin.android My T-Mobile: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.everythingeverywhere.tmobile RunKeeper: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.fitnesskeeper.runkeeper.pro ShareMyApps: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.mattlary.shareMyApps Shazam: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.shazam.android Shopper: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.shopper ShopSavvy: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.biggu.shopsavvy Skype: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.skype.raider Sonos: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.sonos.acr Spotify: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.spotify.mobile.android.ui Translate: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.translate TripIt: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.tripit Tube Chaser: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.andybotting.tubechaser XE Currency: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.xe.android

To be fair though, sharing via email did work a treat. The following is the email output:

Amazon UK
Chrome to Phone
Dropbox
Finance
Foursquare
Google Sky Map
Gowalla
IMDb
LinkedIn
My T-Mobile
RunKeeper
ShareMyApps
Shazam
Shopper
ShopSavvy
Skype
Sonos
Spotify
Translate
TripIt
Tube Chaser
XE Currency

Generated by ShareMyApps

At least they are clickable links to the Android Market! ;-) Also as you can now install apps direct from the PC, via Market Place, onto your Android phone, this allows a user to actually download the application suggestions!

So if you like telling your friends about applications they might like, ShareMyApps is a pretty good way to do it. It might not work across every format, but potentially additional support, for some form of validation, might be available in later releases

Have fun

Cheers

m

The Rosemary Leaf Beetles Are Back!

The Rosemary Leaf beatles, or more affectionately know Chrysolina Americana, are back! Actually I am not sure if Chrysolina Americana is a term of endearment or not! These little, yet rather strikingly colourful, blighters like to dine out on the leaves of Rosemary bushes. Apparently they do not do any lasting damage but as I did last year I am keeping an eye on them ;-)

There seem to be fewer this year than there were last but apparently they are about from May to October, so perhaps I am in for a surprise in the months to come ;-) The photo below, I am assuming of there eggs, leads me to believe that there will be a few more about later on!

The Rosemary bush survived their onslaught last year so fingers crossed it comes through relatively unscathed again this year. Their metallic green and red stripes are pretty impressive so they are definitely an interesting addition to the garden. If a few consumed Rosemary leaves are the only cost for their presence then it is a small price to pay to be able to watch them thrive in the garden. Well fingers crossed they don't thrive too much ;-)

a few further details:

• Scientific name: Chrysolina americana
• Size: Approx 8mm long
• Distribution: Found in parts of Scotland, Wales and England (especially in the southern counties)
• Months seen: May to October
• Habitat: Gardens, allotments and parks - including my garden!
• Food: Rosemary, thyme and other herbs

Despite their name they are a native of Southern Europe. I guess along with all other Southern European species, they are starting to thrive in the UK as the weather warms up a little ;-)

That's all for now.

cheers

m

Not An Early Morning Kind Of Flower

Does anyone know the name of this flower? It is really one of my favourites in my garden due to its intense orange colour and character. It burns brightly in amongst the garden green and is a real scene stealer. For the life of me I don't know what it is called. I should look harder in the weed section as I think this is probably what it is!

It really does grow like a weed and given half a chance will take over the entire garden bed if you let it. This year I cleared out half of one bed just to give some of the other plants a chance.

One of its brilliant features though is that it opens slowly through the day and really seems to have a life all of its own. The above photo is an early morning snap before it has decided that waking up might be an idea. Below is a mid morning snap, showing it slowly waking up to the warm sun.

Finally by about 11 it has decided that it is finally time that it should be up and about!

As I mentioned above though it really does seem to have a character all of its own. The photo below is a classic example of this. This I took last year just after moving in. Tell me it's not smiling for the camera! ;-) Love it!

Anyway, gotta dash, the little one sounds as if he is stirring!

Have fun!

Cheers

m

ADDITION

Or better yet if you turn the above photo upside down you get a frowning face. A rather distorted and dishevelled frowning face but this might be precisely why they are frowning!

An Ant Update On The Peonies

In my Peony blog entry I mentioned the ants that seem to infest the budding flowers. I was not aware of whether they were there for a feed, or indeed if they were actually involved in the pollination of the peony flowers.

I have since done a little research and according to the Heartland Peony Society, ants and peonies are a completely natural combination. Looking at their FAQ they state:

Question:
I was visiting a friend today who has many varieties. The buds were covered with ants. She commented that she needed to spray them with an insecticide. I thought I had read that ants were beneficial to the peonies. Is that correct and if so, just how do they help?

Answer:
Do not try to get rid of the ants on your peonies. This is a natural and temporary activity. It is believed that peonies produce small amounts of nectar and other ant attractants to encourage ants to help in opening the dense double flower buds found in many peonies. The ants may be found covering certain varieties and avoiding others, this is totally normal.

Once the buds have opened the ants will disappear - also normal.

Some people think ants are REQUIRED to open the flowers, but this does not to appear to be true.

It seems a debatable question whether ants are beneficial or harmful. I think they are neutral.

Should you spray a pesticide to get rid of the ants? That is a definite no. Since the ants are not harmful and some pesticide residues are harmful, why endanger yourself, the plants or the peony's pollinator (good insects) with poisonous sprays?

Just don't spray.

Instead just enjoy the unique interaction of ants and peonies; an evolutionary effect thousands of years in the making and posing no problems in the long run.

Not that I had actually considered spraying. The mere sight of an ant doesn't have me running for the chemicals! As I said originally, better on the peonies than in the house! Since the peonies have blossomed the ants haven't moved inside either.

An interesting animal/plant interaction, sort of, explained by the Heartland Peony Society.

There we go.

Have fun

Cheers

m

Help A Peony. They Clearly Need Your Support!

I am considering starting a charity for Peonies, as they clearly need our support! The above picture was taken yesterday, May 17th, and this is the first of our peonies to bloom. There are many more in waiting, so will post an update later if I get the chance. This one is hovering just a few inches off the ground though due to being unable to support itself!

Last year after moving in I was really blown away by these little beauties (well quite large actually as each bloom is about the size of a cricket ball or baseball for those North American inclined ;-) ). I watched the buds gradually grown in size until they were so heavy that the plant stems were almost bent over double. The flower bulbs, then flowers themselves are simply too heavy for the Peony stems to support them! By the time the flowers bloomed they were literally dragging in the grass! Such a shame after such an effort to bloom half of them end up in the dirt!

This year I thought I would be prepared and I supported them as they grew. As it turns out I haven't supported them nearly enough, so I have just been out in the rain staking up more support for them. They look a little lopsided, again, but at least this year they are not dragging themselves in the dirt! I need to get out and possibly prop up the supports again as it decided to tip down as I went out this evening to sort it out. A load of rain for the first time in two weeks. Much needed but not the best timing. Ah well that can wait for the weekend. For now they are looking rather majestic in a very lean-to kind of way.

Having watched them grow last year I thought this year it might be nice to document their annual growth spurt. The first time I noticed new growth was in mid March. The following photos is from March 2oth and shows the Peony shoots on their merry way. These are growing up through the cut off stems from last year.

Two weeks later, 3rd of April, they had passed through the ever so inadequate supports I had set up for them. At this stage the supports were fine. Not for long though ;-).

3 weeks later, April 26th, and the bulbs had started to form. They really explode with growth and the ants in the garden absolutely love them! I guess their is some form of nectar that they are going gaga over. The ants have not really disappeared until they have actually bloomed. Is it possible that ants are pollinating the flowers instead of bees? Probably not. They are probably just there for a free feed! Better on the Peonies than in the house I guess!

By May 10th its pretty clear that my inadequate support mechanism is clearly inadequate. It's about this time I should have started accepting charitable donations ;-)

Then before the final push into bloom the bulbs are pretty much in a bursting state. This photo taken yesterday, May 17th.

The first Peony Bloom is the leading picture in this blog entry. This came out probably on the 15th of May. So from humble beginnings in mid march, the peonies have literally exploded into bloom in about two months. As with all garden flowers their existence is all too fleeting. I imagine within about another two weeks the blooms will be tired and haggard, but while they are full of life they are a welcome site! If I am feeling a little macabre in a few weeks I might track their decline so you can have the full Peony life cycle picture. Let's see if I have the time! Quite possibly not!

Anyways there you have it. I am a great fan of the peonies. Their sheer size and intensity are a welcome addition to our garden. Give them a try if you like the look of them. Make sure you give them adequate support though, as I have not done for the past two years!

Have fun

Cheers

m